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Sunday, December 17, 2017

One of the many fun perks of being a Disney Store Cast Member is that every year around the holidays, we're each gifted an exclusive "Reward & Recognition" item (complete with a letter of gratitude for the work we do). This year it happens to be Pixar related, so of course I was particularly thrilled when I saw it revealed at our annual holiday meeting last month. Here we have Lightning McQueen as a 1:43 scale diecast (Disney Store standard size). This, however, isn't your normal blue Rust-Eze "For Doc Hudson" McQueen as seen at the end of Cars 3 or even your average blue Dinoco McQueen. Nope, look closer. This blue McQueen has an entirely new and original paint job/design commemorating the Disney Store's 30th anniversary, which has been celebrated all year long!

The very first Disney Store opened its doors in Southern California’s Glendale Galleria on March 28th, 1987. These days, there are close to 400 stores operating worldwide—with more to come I'm sure! What an amazing and unique mashup as this toy honors two of my favorite things: The Disney Store and Pixar Cars!

Here's a closer look at the "Disney Store Cast Member Exclusive Reward & Recognition" sticker and the rest of its packaging.

And yes, maybe I shouldn't have taken it out of the box considering how rare this thing actually is (feeling some regret), but I couldn't help it! I wanted to get some detailed loose pics.

I love all the details and magical Disney Store touches (like the stars). And it only makes sense to make his racing number 30 in this instance! Even McQueen's blue color scheme is in reference to the original Cast Member costumes, which were, you guessed it, blue. If you look closely, you can also see Doc Hudson on that little gold graphic on either side.

So cool right? As a collector, I love when items are more on the exclusive/limited side, so this is right up my alley. Super special! I feel lucky to have it and even more lucky to be part of the Disney family.

What to you think? Is this something you'd consider pretty neat? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below!